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Sounds like you traded up, lol.
Is that why you were not coming to Corning meet? We still like you and MDX is still a Honda SUV, so you are welcome to attend.
Are the olympics still on? lol
Did you trade it, or sell it privately?
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Mrs. Varmint and I had been looking to trade the CR-V for something with more cargo space (primarily) at the end of the year. We've been saving for a car, plus my company gives a fairly substantial bonus check. But we weren't looking to buy until January when that check comes in.
We started looking just to see what was out there and what kind of deal we might get. No plans to buy, just looking... Yeah, right! The second dealer we stopped at had exactly the vehicle we were looking for; a Silver 2004 MDX touring model without NAV or RES and no extras. It's very clean (almost perfect) and the fact that it had relatively high miles (33K) meant the price was right. It's only been on the road 18 months so I figure those have gotta be highway miles.
How much? $32K. I didn't have to talk him down. The salesman didn't even try to push the $36K price they had on the sticker. According to Edmunds that's right between the dealer retail and the CPO price for this vehicle. (It is a CPO.)
We did have to talk them up on my trade. They offered $4.5K, which is a low-ball offer. They claimed (correctly) that the 5MT would make it a difficult sale. But I know Buster is worth more than that. Mrs. Varmint and I got them up to $6K without too much effort. I think the down-payment we offered was a big help.
We financed a chunk of it, but will pay off the balance when that bonus check arrives. I know they're making money off us, but I don't begrudge them a living. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't getting taken for a ride. The salesman, Mr. Conroy was good to us, but I have to say the dealership was slow, slow, slow.
Anyway... now I have a better vehicle for recovery purposes on the trails. Anybody wanna go wheeling?
Hey are you an M'techer by any chance? The January bonus check rings a bell with an e-mail address you once had in your profile.
My wife worked there years ago. January was always a nice month!!
Since you didn't get factory NAV, how 'bout one of these bad boys when that check arrives?
Mine was $404 delivered to my door.
Uh-oh, I'm gonna get you in trouble with Ms. Varmint. :surprise:
-juice
Okay, back to CR-Vs...
Wait 'til you try one for an extended period, the point of interest are the real usefullness. For instance you could find the 5 closest pizza joints, so you wouldn't have to wait for someone like a young varmint to show up at the door. :P
-juice
I think there was a guy on HondaSUV looking for a 1999-2001 EX 5 man, and he had the hardest time finding it. If you still have posession of your car (waiting for the transaction go through) hit him up. He was desperate.
As for Buster, he is now in the hands of Clair Acura in Norwood, MA. But, if it helps, they have two of 5MT 99 EXs on the lot. I'll post about it later.
What's up with that? A) is there something about the design of the cr-v that makes chains unusable? and is damage to the cr-v in that area more expensive to fix than usual, or is this the case with most smaller suv's at this point?
Thanks...
-glenn
Now the chains... I think the problem this dealer is trying to avoid is people putting chains on one set of tires. If you were to put chains on just the front tires, it might make the diameter of those tires larger than the diameter of the rear tires, which would engage the 4WD constantly (which it is not designed to do).
However, if you put chains on all four tires, there's no problem.
While we're the subject, use cables, not chains.
http://www.vulcantire.com/chainz6_c.htm
-juice
If you know the user name of the person seeking that CRV, direct him to the classifieds section over there.
No, the CR-V doesn't do that. I suppose you could do it with some sort of aftermarket system, but it's not an option that Honda gives you.
Sorry.
What does the OWNER's MANUAL say they are supposed to do? This question is easy to answer, just look it up. My 2005 EX manual does not mention auto locking doors. I think it is a Ford thing. None of the Honda's I have had ever had auto locking doors. Honda is pretty sure that drivers are capable of locking the doors themselves if they feel they need to. No reason to have the machine do it for you.
If the doors lock automatically (once you start moving), it can help prevent a car-jacking. No one can pull a door open while stopped at a traffic light. I can see why this might be valuable to some.
The other is the belief that locked doors are less likely to pop open after a collision. Some safety advocates promote this notion even though it is generally considered bogus. The locks do not make the door's latching mechanism any stronger or more resistant to forced opening.
The argument against auto-locking doors is that rescue workers would have to spend extra time pulling someone from a locked car.
Wish V would offer daytime running lights,auto-lock and navigation option.
Remember saying in the manual "lock the door if you don't want to pop out".
Earlier this year, a Wall Street Journal article pointed out that factory-installed nav systems are poor value propositions. You pay $2K now & you're lucky to get back 20 cents on the dollar when you trade your car in 3 years down the road. They're prettier but they're tough to upgrade & can be used in only 1 car.
-juice
IIRC, about $185.
Also, recently I was looking at used cars, and the ones with NAV carried a significantly higher price.
We ended up sticking with our current vehicle, and getting aftermarket NAV. But I just don't buy the 20 cents-on-the-dollar argument.
-juice
If all you do is use the NAV for directions, then a portable unit is the far better deal. As pointed out above, it can be moved easily from car to car and will do the job just fine.
However, factory NAV units have a boatload of additional features. For example, Acura's NAV includes a very capable voice-recognition interface. Acura's latest version is linked to real time traffic information. There's also a very high "techno-slick" factor. I know Acura's best, but I'm sure the competition has many extra features, too.
Integration means no cords, a built-in look, less likelihood of theft, plus your car can know how fast you are going in a tunnel and accurately predict when you'll reach the end of it.
So there are some advantages to OE, but aftermarket units keep getting better also.
The option usually costs $2000 at MSRP, but more like $1600-1800 at invoice, which is what most people pay. So the $750-1000 amounts to around 50% of the residual value, i.e. depreciation is proportionate to the rest of the car, as I'd expect.
-juice
The point that the WSJ writer was trying to make is that you'll get back more of what you spend on "traditional" (that is, non-electronic) luxuries, such as leather (where it's available as an option) than you will on stuff that's likely to get obsolete before the rest of the car has a chance to wear out. I don't know if it actually works out that way in the marketplace, but the thesis made sense to me.
Here's something else I like about aftermarket solutions. When the next big thing in nav systems comes along in a couple of years (& it will - this is new technology), stepping up to it will be easy & comparatively cheap. I'll simply spend another $500 or $600 on a replacement for my Garmin. Even then, I'll have less money tied up in this stuff than I would if I had sprung for an OEM system (assuming that I had bought a car for which this was an option.)
Anothe rbenefit on Aftermarket, when you turn off the ignition, the screen folds into the radio and no one knows you have it. With OEM it is out there exposed to the world and luring the thieves.
It takes 1-5 minutes to locate the satellite and I almost figure out the right way by the time it locates the satellites.
This thing is so big so does not fit it anywhere to hide it.The manual says do not put anything under the front seat cuz of sensor for air bag. So I hide them under the table.LOL.
So whenever I am lost,I have to go under the table to get my garmin or move it to the front before the trip.
Maybe it's time to get a smaller streetpilot.
I even have Earthmate GPS to connect my laptop. Unless someone is holding the laptop or you have someplace to mount, it is a pain and useless.
I see Civic offers navigation and daytime running lights starting this year.so I hope new third generation V will offer daytime running lights(Geico gives you 5%discount),auto-lock and navigation.
I will still take the navigation option if they offer!
With the 2002-2006 models, the rear seats may be configured into something like a chaise lounge. The front seats are folded all the way back and meet the cushions of the rear seats. The back of the rear seats is then pushed back as far as they will go. The result looks like this.
Not flat enough to be called a bed, but probably comfy enough for cat-napping.
But sorta pales in comparison with the way the 1st gen CR-V bed was configured. That CR-V could actually be used as a bed. (I slept overnight in mine a few times.) The bed slants forward a bit, but it's softer than the bare earth and reasonably long. Unfortunately, the links pics don't do it justice.
I think the best bed vehicle in the Honda line-up is probably the Element. The E allows for a bed that is both flat and level.
The Garmin's maps are actually more up-to-date.
-juice
Honda's own Fit is sold in Brazil and has a nifty rear seat that folds out of the way so you can carry tall items like a plant inside. That's coming here soon.
I just think if you want FWD you can save a bunch by getting a 5 door of some sort.
-juice
Matrix too small plus you ride too low. Don't care for the Scion unless it's a TC. Would rather have a Toyota WISH or Honda FRV or Stream.
Also looking hard at the FIT. Really nice. I saw a couple in Mexico last month. They should be here in the Spring.
Honda doesn't offer many variations on the CR-V because it costs money to not install items on a car. Besides, they have the Element for the bargain shoppers.
I don't have all the info but I believe all Mazda5's have been recalled. Something about the exhaust system getting excessively hot and potentially causing an issue. When I was reading about it they said they had no fix and people who had bought were given loaners. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the vehicle IMHO.
Honda did a similar thing with the 2002 CR-V when it first hit the shores. They found a problem with the seatbelt during some internal crash testing. Some people got their CR-V's "repo'd" because Honda wouldn't let them drive the vehicle.
That got sorted out a good deal quicker than this Mazda5 issue, but I still wouldn't let something like that stand in my way.
I have considered the aftermarket NAVs from Pioneer or Kenwood, my only concern is that I do not want to loose the 6-CD player functionality. Can you have both?
Thanks.
I rarely even post recall news links anymore; they happen and there's one almost every week. There's been XC90 and Land Rover ones in the last couple of days and probably some others I didn't even notice.
The Mazda5 recall involved 3 fires (link) and no Varmint, I'm not going to finish the rest of that thought, lol.
Steve, Host
#1 - the EPA MPG is only 1 MPG city and 2 MPG highway higher on the FWD version. Real life MPG is the same.
#2 - the suspension is the same. The only difference is the rear differential and drive axles aren't on the FWD
#3 & #4 - doesn't matter whether you go off road, you live in an area that has heavy rains - something the RT4WD handles very well.
JM2C
If it makes you feel any better, the EX AWD version will have much better resale, when you are finished with it..
regards,
kyfdx
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